Sad news from the NFL owners meetings in Orlando: A legend among them is gone. Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson Jr. has died at age 95. Wilson's death was announced by Bills president and CEO Russ Brandon.

Bills president Russ Brandon: "No one loved the game of football more than Ralph Wilson."

Wilson founded the franchise, which began in the American Football League in 1960. Since the AFL's merger with the NFL in 1970, Wilson remained the Bills' beloved leader for whom their stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., was named. He had been the oldest living owner in the NFL.

As part of his 54-year-plus tenure that included two AFL championships and four AFC championships, Wilson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. He also served in the U.S. Navy in World War II.

"Ralph Wilson was a driving force in developing pro football into America's most popular sport," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Ralph always brought a principled and common-sense approach to issues."

"He wasn't my boss, he was my friend. A magnificent guy to work with. Deeply saddened to hear about his passing. He meant so much to the game that both of us revered, and to the community of Buffalo and beyond. It's quite a loss, and he's going to be remembered so fondly by everyone who knew him." — Marv Levy, Bills Hall of Fame coach.

"I was truly blessed to be around Mr. Wilson during the glory days. ... To have him in the locker room after a game, to see the excitement but also on the other side to see the disappointment of never winning a championship, but also coming into the locker room after big games, after Super Bowls, and always hearing him remind players, each one, that we wouldn't have got here without you. ... So I'm going to miss him, without a doubt. He used to call me his favorite son." — Thurman Thomas, Bills Hall of Fame running back.

"As two of the original members of the AFL's Foolish Club, my father and Ralph shared a unique bond and special friendship. I had the privilege of knowing Ralph and his family my entire life. His sense of humor was extraordinary, and his passion for the Buffalo Bills was remarkable." — Clark Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs chairman.

"Ralph Wilson Jr. was cut from the same cloth as Lamar Hunt, a man I worked for in Kansas City for nearly 20 years. The historic AFL-NFL merger that these men brought to fruition more than 50 years ago helped make the NFL the pinnacle of sports that it is today, capturing our imaginations like little else." — Carl Peterson, USA Football Chairman.

"Ralph Wilson was a founder of our game, one of the cornerstones of the AFL, and a great American sportsman. He had a tremendous competitive spirit, and his contributions to professional football were very meaningful and significant." — Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner.

"It's the end of a real important era. Ralph was so important in developing football into what it is today. He was the NFL. He was the AFL. He was always a guy that was up to the task." — Woody Johnson, New York Jets owner.

"As one of the founding fathers of the AFL, Ralph deserves a lot of credit for taking that initial risk and for the many contributions he made to the NFL over the past 54 years. He built a franchise that the Buffalo community loves and embraces. Personally, I will always be grateful for how he welcomed me when I first entered the league. He was always a gracious host and I will never forget that. I will miss him." — Robert Kraft, New England Patriots chairman and CEO.

"Ralph was remarkably warm and helpful to me as I knocked on doors to explore ownership in the NFL. Given his legacy as a builder and visionary, I imagine Ralph was able to relate to my dream to one day join him as a team owner. I'll never forget his kindness to me, and will always treasure the letter he wrote welcoming my family to the NFL in 2011." — Shahid Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars owner.

"As the last surviving NFL member of the 'Foolish Club,' Ralph Wilson helped grow the game in new territories and in new ways and his passing concludes a terrific success story. Our two franchises have shared many moments in football history and Bud (Adams) was proud to see Ralph Wilson enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 50th anniversary of the AFL." — Tommy Smith, Titans CEO/president.

"I'm eternally grateful to Mr. Wilson for giving me the opportunity to become a general manager, and giving Marv and I the opportunity to build a great football team. And I know for a fact during the course of my tenure with the Bills that he had opportunities to entertain offers to move the franchise to places that would have been more lucrative. But he gave his word, and like everything else he did in his life, he kept his word when he said that the Bills would never leave western New York in his lifetime." — Bill Polian, Bills former general manager.

"For those of us that played for him and knew him, we were hoping this day would never come. And I'm sad, I'm broken-hearted over it because he's a guy that I not only had a lot of affection for personally, but I had a lot of respect for him. I owe a lot of my success professionally and personally to him and this organization, and I never forgot that and I never will." — Steve Tasker, former Bills receiver-turned-broadcaster.